Arizona Diamondbacks routed by Milwaukee Brewers

As punch-drunk and embarrassed as they were Saturday night at Chase Field, the Diamondbacks should probably send a "thank you" note to Jody Gerut in the visiting clubhouse.

At least he didn't rub it in.

Gerut hit for the cycle, completing it by slugging a ninth-inning double off the wall in center field, but because it came amid a 17-3 Milwaukee Brewers victory, the part-time outfielder barely showed any emotion.

"I tried to contain myself because the game was so out of control," Gerut said. "I tried to respect the fact we were up that big. But, man, hitting for the cycle? It was unlike anything I've ever experienced in the game."

Give Gerut credit for his sportsmanship, but this loss was so damaging to the Diamondbacks, their manager was worried about how they will respond.

The Brewers, who will look to complete a three-game series sweep Sunday, pounded out 17 hits - a season high by a Diamondbacks opponent. The 17 runs were the most scored against the Diamondbacks since the Mets dropped 18 on them on Aug. 24, 2005.

"Once they started to extend their lead and their offense started to get hits anytime they wanted to, we just couldn't get an out," Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch said. "There was nowhere to turn. They piled on us and embarrassed us."

Hinch is as curious as anyone to see how his players react when they close out the series today.

"Tonight will test us because we got our (butt) kicked," he said. "They shoved it in our face in our home ballpark, kind of the way our offense likes to do it.

"Tonight wasn't good. It wasn't fun, and there isn't a whole lot I can take out of this that's constructive. You take your beating like a man and show up (today) and try to salvage some pride and salvage the series to move on to the Dodgers series."

Things started well enough for the Diamondbacks. Five of their first six batters reached base in the first inning, and they led 2-0.

But Brewers starter Randy Wolf (3-2) helped turn a double play to end the momentum, and then it all swung in the Brewers' direction.

"I never felt like two runs was the end of the world," Wolf said.

Not with the kind of offense Milwaukee has. The Brewers have scored seven or more runs 11 times this season. They've not only scored 17 runs once before in 2010, they also hung 20 on the Pirates.

And yet the Brewers have been just as cold, having been held to three runs or fewer on 14 occasions.

"We've definitely had some feast-or-famine times," Wolf said. "You can't count on double-digit runs, but this offense can be pretty unbelievable.

"The momentum that gets created when things start going, it's amazing. I've never seen a team that when it starts scoring runs, you can't stop the bleeding."

Hinch will be scrambling for some kind of tourniquet before today's game, just to be safe. He's also looking for some consistency.

"We'll see. We haven't figured out the way to continue the momentum and stay on an even keel," he said.

"We've played good series, a poor series, a great series, and a horrible series. We've been an inconsistent series-by-series team."

Rewind

Watch the walks: The Diamondbacks' bullpen entered Saturday's game with a 1.35 ERA, a .145 opponents' batting average and having walked only two batters dating to the fifth inning of last Sunday's game at Chicago.

But in one night, those statistics took a beating. Four relievers combined to allow seven runs (six earned), eight hits, and they issued five walks behind a shaky outing from Cesar Valdez in his second career start.

Gerut's cycle: Milwaukee outfielder Jody Gerut homered, singled and tripled in his first three at-bats Saturday, giving him more than a decent shot to hit for the cycle with four innings to play.

In the sixth, he flied out to left. In the seventh, he grounded out to the pitcher. But thanks to his teammates battering around Chad Qualls, Gerut got one last chance in the ninth.

And he used it to drill a two-run double off the wall in center for his first career cycle and the sixth in Brewers history. It's the third one against the Diamondbacks and the first by an opponent at Chase Field.

"I thought a lot of things had to go right for me to get another shot," Gerut said, "but I did. It's unbelievable."

99 for Reynolds: Third baseman Mark Reynolds hit his 10th homer of the season and the 99th of his career for the Diamondbacks in the sixth inning, tying him with Matt Williams for third place on the club's all-time list.

Luis Gonzalez leads with 224 homers, and Steve Finley is second with 153.

View from the press box

Looking for positives was a daunting task Saturday night. The Diamondbacks certainly didn't provide any. About the only good thing about this game was they finally opened the Chase Field roof for the top of the fourth inning. It was closed at the start of the game because of 90-degree temperatures outside.

Milwaukee Brewers' Jody Gerut acknowledges the dugout after hitting a double for the cycle during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Saturday, May 8, 2010, in Phoenix.

Notes: Kennedy had a strong outing in his most-recent start, going 6 2/3 innings as the Diamondbacks recorded their first shutout of the season in a 1-0 win at Houston. He has pitched 37 innings this season, allowing 15 earned runs. He has appeared in six games, all starts. . . . Narveson will make his 12th appearance, third as a starter. In his previous start, he recorded the win in an 11-6 over the Dodgers, going six innings and giving up three earned runs.